The American Band
by Suni Daughter of Moro
Summary: Full summary inside. It's basically about a band from America that comes to Japan under the N-G record label and the secret behind their singer.
1. Chapter One

Summary: N-G Records has offered to sponsor an American group striving to go to Japan and make it big there. The band ends up being the biggest challenge of Shuichi's career, since (within weeks) they're already rivaling Bad Luck for the top of the charts. However, things are about to get more hectic when Bad Luck finds out the other band's vocalist is… No she can't be--!

The American Band

"You really do intend to bring an American band to the N-G record label?" Miss Kirazaki asked. She was a stunning young interviewer with long black hair and glowing amber eyes from a local music magazine.

"Yes, yes of course. I'm quite serious about bringing these young musicians into N-G records," Tohma Seguchi nodded.

"Forgive me, but you seem to be taking an awfully big risk here."

"I suppose. But I really do see great potential for Aoi Honou1 here in Japan."

"But the band members aren't Japanese - they don't even look it," Kirazaki objected as she flipped through the CD booklet - which Tohma had given to her to look at - from Aoi Honou's only American release.

"They have American accents but they all speak Japanese quite well. And I believe their music to be flawless."

"Certainly not flawless," she scoffed.

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with Aoi Honou," Tohma assured her.

"I notice you have them lined up to play Zepp-Tokyo Clubhouse on the fourteenth as an opening act for Bad Luck. Am I mistaken, or did Bad Luck get their big start opening in the same time and place for ASK?"

"You are correct. In fact, I did it for the exact same irony that you just pointed out," Tohma cracked a smile.

"Do you expect this to be another ASK-Bad Luck relationship?"

"Do you mean to ask if I think Bad Luck and Aoi Honou will be competing against each other for the number one slot until one band drops off the face of the earth?" Tohma paused to sip his drink and then responded to the self-asked question coolly, "Yes, Aoi Honou and Bad Luck will rival each other for the top of the charts. But no, neither one will disappear. Bad Luck is too stubborn for that, as is Aoi Honou."

"Aoi Honou's singer…" she flipped through the booklet again to find the credit page, "Colleen Koran - will I be impressed with her work?"

"Undoubtedly. She has a powerful voice and great moves… and she composes all of her lyrics in Japanese, though she barely spoke a word of it five years ago."

"Impressive indeed, Mister Seguchi… _if_ she's as good as you say she is," Kirazaki agreed dubiously, before grabbing her things. "I'll be at the Clubhouse on the fourteenth. I'm hoping - for _your_ sake - that my doubts are unverified. Goodbye Mister Seguchi."

"Goodbye Miss Kirazaki," Tohma said. "And please remember - if I really found rave reviews so terribly necessary, I could and would have bought your magazine's favor long ago."

Kirazaki was speechless. She had already known that that was true. However, she hadn't expected him to admit to being low enough to bribe when necessary. She quickly shook her head, ridding herself of the deer-in-the-headlights look, took her suitcase, and left the office quietly. Tohma watched her leave and then sat in peaceful solitude for several minutes before the door opened again.

"HI TOHMA!" Ryuichi came bouncing into the room.

"Hello Ryuichi," Tohma couldn't help but smile awkwardly at his unusual band mate.

"Kumagoro says hi too," Ryu flopped down in the chair before Tohma's desk and made Kumagoro wave.

"Hello… Kumagoro," Tohma forced the words out uncomfortably, as if it was his first time speaking to Ryuichi's pink rabbit plushy.

Ryuichi blinked as he picked up the Aoi Honou CD booklet that Kirazaki had left behind. "Aoi Honou," he said to himself as he began to page through. He halted at a picture of the band and pointed at the singer with a jubilantly shaking finger, "Ah, I know her! I know her!"

"I know you do," Tohma nodded with a cheerful grin, uncharacteristic yet very real. "She's getting an N-G record contract."

"N-G record…" Ryuichi's mind slowly processed the information. "Ah, she's coming here!? She's coming here!" Ryu laughed and clasped his hands together.

"I'm glad you're happy, Ryuichi. But please remember that she may be a part of N-G records but she is Nittle Grasper's rival. Much like Mister Shindou."

"Aw…" Ryuichi sighed, a pout curling his lips downward. Then his face lit up and he asked hopefully, "I can still sing with her like I did with Shuichi right?"

"Of course, Ryuichi. I'll arrange for a Nittle Grasper - Aoi Honou dual concert as soon as I'm finished planning Aoi Honou's first solo concert."

"Yay! She's coming! She's coming!" Ryu giggled.

"Actually, Ryu, would you do me a favor?" Tohma asked.

"Sure. Anything, Tohma. What is it?"

"Aoi Honou arrives at the airport in an hour. I would be very grateful if you would take Mister K and go to the airport to welcome Colleen and her band mates."

"YAY!"

"And Ryuichi, don't let K know you're going to pick up Colleen."

"Oh, a surprise! Goody! Bye Tohma!" the hyper brunette made a mad dash from the room and down the hall.

"I wonder if this will be as pleasant a surprise for Mister K…" Tohma mused.

Meanwhile, Ryuichi had already located K and was currently explaining the situation to him in one swift breath.

"HeyK!Listen,Tohmawantsustogototheairporttowelcomehisnewbandandweneedtohurrybecausetheyarriveinanhourandyouknowhowtrafficis!" Ryuichi finished and instantly began panting wildly.

"Come again, Ryuichi?" K blinked.

"New band… at airport… Tohma sending us," Ryuichi summarized between gasping breaths.

"Well why didn't you say so?" K rested a hand on Ryu's shoulder. "Come. The car is out back."

The two boarded the elevator, which they took down to the ground level. They dashed out through the back alley exit and hopped into K's car. K started up the car and within instants they were racing for the airport at top speed.

K and Ryuichi arrived in a little more than a half-hour. This allowed the two a bit of free time before the plane landed, which they opted to spend scarfing down a quick lunch at the food court. By the time they were finished, the plane was about to arrive. They walked to the assigned gate.

"They're late," K tapped his foot impatiently. The plane had already been grounded for nearly fifteen minutes.

"They must be having trouble with their equipment," Ryuichi insisted. "Guitars and keyboards can be quite heavy, I hear."

"Where is this new band coming from, anyway?" K asked.

"America," Ryuichi responded ambiguously, avoiding specifics.

"Oi, Ryuichi-san!" Colleen called as she rushed off the plane, despite the yelling flight attendants. She was weighted down with the heavy bag she carried in her arms, tightly pressed to her chest. Her clumsy movements due to the weighty duffle caused her long blonde hair to swing around in all directions as she ran to meet him. As she approached, her violet eyes began gleaming with joy, "Ohayo gozaimass, Ryu-san!"

"Colleen," Ryuichi threw his arms cheerfully around her for a quick embrace and then pulled back, laughing. "Surprise! Surprise! Here's Colleen! Here's K!"

"Colleen…" K stared, wide-eyed. That was all he could do - speak her name and stare.

"I… hadn't expected Seguchi-san would send you," Colleen cast her head down, occasionally glancing up at K with a look of uncertainty.

* * *

1 For anyone who doesn't speak Japanese, I believe Aoi Honou means Blue Fire.

* * *

A/N: If anyone cares to try, whoever figures out who Colleen is and states it in their review gets a super-special secret prize (ok it's not so super-special). 


	2. Chapter Two

Contest Winner: Gin

The Prize: He gets to help me design Colleen's band mates

* * *

The American Band

The ride back to N-G was uncomfortably silent. Colleen sat in the passenger's seat beside K and Ryuichi sat in the back with Colleen's two band mates. The car was so silent that the light rumble of the engine seemed louder than an exploding bomb.

The band's guitarist, who had still not given a name, coughed softly. The car fell into silence again. It was unbearable.

"Let's see," Colleen reached out and pressed a few buttons on the car's CD player. A familiar voice came through the speakers. "Oh, this is your American release CD, isn't it Ryu-san?"

"Yeah. It is," Ryuichi responded. He set his serious gaze out the window. "I hate it."

"You hate it? Ryu, you're a genius. How can you hate it?" Colleen demanded.

"I hate every song I sang in America. What gave the true power to my songs was the reality that Noriko and Tohma were there to back me up. When I sang without them in America, every song I sang was trash."

Colleen had no response for that, so the car was hushed again. She stared out the window for a second before the car came screeching to a halt.

"How could you go behind my back like that? Talking Tohma into sponsoring you here in Japan and not even telling me you were even contemplating this?" K shouted, turning a cold stare on her.

"I've got a surprise for you, Dad! It's not all about you!" Colleen yelled back.

"Dad?" the guitarist blinked. "K-san?"

"Yes, yes, it's nice to see you too, Gil. I just never expected to see you and my daughter here in Japan working for Seguchi!"

"You see? This is why I didn't tell you! You wouldn't have approved of it anyway, whether I told you or not!" Colleen insisted.

"Why did you come here?" K growled. "Back in America, you had all the power of XMR behind you. Why did you give that up to come here?"

"I came here for the purpose of giving that up. I want to prove that Aoi Honou doesn't need Reiji's backing to be a success!" Colleen insisted. "You can do and say whatever you like. I'm still here and I'm not leaving. I'm going to work for Seguchi-san and prove that we have what it takes to make it on our own."

"Has it ever occurred to you that you have more ties to N-G than XMR?" K demanded.

"Yes. It has. But Seguchi-san isn't like Reiji. He'd _never_ hire me unless I had the talent, whereas Reiji might."

"Yeah, you've got to give Tohma that much credit," Ryu laughed. "He's a cold bastard. He'd fire his closest friend if they slowed progress."

"The last thing we need is this side of you coming in on this fight," K turned to Ryuichi as he shut off the CD player.

Ryuichi blinked for a minute and then murmured, "How long have we been in the car? Weren't we just at the airport a second ago?"

"Dad, I'm addressing you now as an employee of N-G, not as my father. I work for Seguchi-san and so do you. He told you to pick me up at the airport and take me to N-G, so do your job and take me to N-G."

"I already have," K pointed up. Colleen looked up through the moon roof at the sky-scraper beside the car - the _N-G_ sky-scraper beside the car.

"Hmph!" Colleen quickly got out of the car and slammed the door. She tossed her duffle bag over her shoulder and rushed inside.

"Man, she seems upset," the drummer remarked.

"_She_ seems upset?" Gil queried, pointing to K, who was loading up a rifle in the driver's seat.

"Don't be scared. I just do this when I'm pissed off. Now get a move on, you two," K ordered harshly. The rest of Aoi Honou quickly gathered their things and jumped out of the car.

"You shouldn't be so hard on her," Ryuichi said softly. "You know how much she loves singing."

"I'm not really angry at her, Ryu," K confessed, sighing. "I'm angry at myself. I know I'm a busy, working father and we were separated by an entire ocean… but I should have known. I should have known she was coming. I should have known about Aoi Honou."

"You didn't even know about the band?" Ryu blinked.

"No. I knew nothing. As far as I knew, she still didn't have a clue what she wanted to do with her life," K scratched his head in frustration. "I don't even think I've ever heard Gil play the guitar or Dan strike the drum or Colleen sing."

"You never even heard Colleen sing?" Ryuichi's eyes widened.

K shook his head seriously. "I knew she liked singing. I had heard her hum a few times, perhaps sing a line or two, but never have I actually heard her sing a song."

"It's not your fault K-san," Ryu assured.

"Yes it is. I'm a terrible father to her. I neglected her so much. She must hate me, especially since I never neglected Michael the way I neglected her."

"Michael?"

"My son. He's such a little kid that you probably never met him."

"Just try not to be so hard on the girl, K. I'm sure she's just upset right now," Ryuichi smiled.

"You're probably right," K sighed before staring at the gun in his hand angrily. "Besides, I have business to attend to with Mr. Shindo…"

"You aren't going to hurt Shuichi are you?" Ryuichi asked warily.

"He skipped work for a week and a half because of a cold. You know how I react to that sort of disgraceful behavior," K flashed a slight smirk.

"Um… well I'm glad to see you're at least feeling better…" Ryuichi forced a smile.

"Go catch up with Colleen. Make her feel at home," K said.

"Mm-hm! As good as done, K-san!" Ryuichi nodded fiercely before rushing out of the car and into the building.

"I can't believe she's here," K sighed, starting up the car again.


	3. Chapter Three

The American Band

"I don't suppose anyone here knows why I called this meeting, do you?" Seguchi asked, leaning his head on his hands casually.

"Ooh! I know, I know!" Ryuichi flailed his arm wildly through the air.

"Care to explain to the others then, Ryuichi?" Tohma asked.

"We're here to party!" he grinned.

"Not quite," Tohma tried to maintain a serious demeanor though an awkward drop of sweat rolled down his cheek, "though I did intend to invite you all out after this."

"So then why are we here, Seguchi-san?" Fujisaki asked.

"Colleen, you and the others can come in now," Tohma called.

In strolled the blond teen and her two companions. "Hai, Seguchi-san?"

"Everyone, this is Aoi Honou. The band comes highly recommended from America. I called this meeting to introduce you all to Colleen, Dan, and Gil."

"I'm Gil; he's Dan," Gil explained pointing first to himself and then to Dan.

"Colleen! Come sit by me!" Ryu whined. Colleen smiled awkwardly.

"Hai, Ryuichi-chan," she nodded and hurried over to sit beside him. Shuichi blinked.

"Do you two know each other?" Shuichi asked.

"Ryuichi is one of my best friends," Colleen nodded.

"And Colleen is one of my best friends!" Ryuichi returned happily. "Ooh! Speaking of which, Shuichi, this is Colleen Koran; Colleen, this is Shuichi Shindo!"

"Koran… That's spelled with a _K_, isn't it?" Hiro asked, eyes drifting up to a certain manager who was twitching awkwardly.

"Colleen is K-san's daughter!" Ryuichi declared.

"You're what?" Shuichi stared.

"I'm K's daughter. And before you ask, yes, I carry a weapon - a derringer," Colleen responded.

"Oh," Shuichi gave a sigh of relief. "Well that's not so bad."

"Colleen-san, allow me to introduce myself. I am Suguru Fujisaki," Fujisaki reached his hand over the table and Colleen shook it amiably.

"Nice to meet you Suguru-san."

"And I'm Hiroshi Nakano," Hiro waved. "Me, Shuichi, and Fujisaki make up the band Bad Luck."

"Ah, I knew I recognized you. Ryuichi-chan sent me a copy of your first CD. You guys are good but I must say Nittle Grasper is still the best group around because they have Ryu-chan."

"Speaking of Nittle Grasper, I don't believe we've ever met or even spoken. I'm Noriko, the third member of Nittle Grasper," Noriko winked and flashed the peace sign in Colleen's direction.

"A pleasure to meet you," Colleen smiled.

"I'm sure introductions are not necessary after all our conversations over the phone," Tohma said, "but just as a formality, I am Tohma Seguchi. Welcome to N-G Records."

"Arigato gozaimass, Seguchi-san. Um, is he okay?" Colleen asked nervously, motioning toward Sakano, who had had a panic attack upon the revelation of Colleen's identity and had since passed out.

"Don't worry about him. This is normal. So, Colleen, how old are you? I'm guessing sixteen like Fujisaki?" Hiro queried.

"Actually, you're close but no. I am fifteen years old," Colleen answered.

"Fifteen? I'm impressed," Shuichi nodded thoughtfully.

"Anyway," Tohma interrupted. "I got a nightclub - my personal favorite actually - to close down for tonight so that we could go. Is anyone interested?"

"Yeah! Nightclub! Nightclub!" Ryuichi cheered.

"I'm up for it," Hiro agreed.

"Great. So, we'll pile into a few cars, stop to pick up Mika and her brothers, and then we'll go," Tohma rose and headed for the door. Everyone followed, though K wasn't fond of the idea of letting his daughter go to a nightclub, even if it was only people he knew there.

Regardless, the group squeezed into the elevator and then into three cars, which were driven by K, Tohma, and Hiro. Tohma had Suguru and Noriko in his car, Hiro was driving - in a car which was borrowed from N-G - Shuichi, Ryuichi, and Colleen, and K drove Sakano, who was still unconscious, Dan, and Gil.

"Are we sure this guy isn't dead?" Dan asked.

"He's fine. Trust me," K said.

"K-san, are you still angry about all this?" Gil worried.

"Not at all," K flashed an assuring smile. "I wish you all the best."

Gil gave a sigh of relief and Dan would have joined him if he weren't so preoccupied with poking Sakano.

"Isn't there any way to wake him up?" Dan prodded Sakano curiously.

"Here, splash him with this," K threw back a bottle of water. Dan caught it, opened it up, and splashed Sakano.

Sakano jumped up in a mad coughing fit, with his eyes wide. "Where am I? What happened? Where are you taking me?"

"We're going to Tohma's favorite nightclub to welcome Aoi Honou to N-G," K responded.

"K-san… Colleen… is she really…?" Sakano asked nervously.

"My darling daughter?" K grinned evilly. "Yes indeed."

"So who are we picking up now?" Dan asked.

"Tohma's wife and her brothers, Eiri and Tatsuha."

When everyone had been retrieved, there was some debate as to which car would take Eiri. Naturally, Shuichi had claimed him as had Tohma. Shuichi insisted that Tohma already had enough people in it. Tohma then pointed out that there were the same amount of people in Shuichi's car. After some debating, Eiri put his own two cents in.

"I'll go with the psychopathic American with the sniper rifle - will THAT shut you two up?" Yuki crawled into the backseat of K-san's car.

This compromise didn't exactly agree with Tohma or Shuichi but both were satisfied with the fact that the other wouldn't be able to touch him if he was in K's car. The whole thing made Tatsuha ecstatic though, because this agreement meant he ended up in the same car as his beloved Ryuichi Sakuma.

Now that the seating arrangements were all settled, it was time to move. They left Eiri's house and headed off to the club.

The club being empty had very little effect on the sheer volume of the place. Music blared through every speaker in the building at extreme decibels. Colleen promptly took a seat at the bar and ordered a soda. As she had naturally picked up from her father, Colleen had automatically found herself a good vantage point and rested herself there to watch and study the others. She was barely aware of it anymore. It was becoming pure instinct.

As Eiri and Shuichi walked through the door, Fujisaki came rushing up beside them. She could tell right away that Fujisaki also had an interest in the blond novelist.

"Eiri-san! How are you?" Fujisaki smiled, his cheeks an adorable red. It made Eiri want to vomit.

Shuichi glared at Fujisaki for a second and then dragged Eiri away. Eiri almost murmured a thank-you under his breath but decided that was too much of a violation of his character.

Fujisaki sank into a seat at a nearby table and let his eyes well up with tears. At least Tohma could get close to Eiri without scaring him off. It seemed to Fujisaki that any time he got close to Eiri, the blond turned tail and ran.

This was pathetic. Colleen turned her gaze toward the door again. Tohma was standing against the wall beside the door, watching Shuichi and Eiri from a distance. Even with the thirty or so feet between them, Colleen could detect a sizeable vein popping out of Tohma's forehead.

On the other side of the doorway was her father. He was just standing there, leaning against the wall, probably just sitting back and observing like she was. Observing someone observing someone else wasn't entirely thrilling to Colleen so she turned her attention again.

A few tables away, in the opposite direction of Fujisaki, Colleen found Dan and Gil sitting with Noriko. She was flirting with the two jokingly but they both seemed to be taking her seriously. Colleen couldn't help laughing a bit.

"Would one of you be a darling and get me a strawberry milkshake?" Noriko asked. Both boys jumped up and ran to the counter.

"Heh. You guys are sad. You do realize she's twenty-eight, don't you?" Colleen shook her head.

"Hey, if a girl seems interested in me, I don't care if she's fifteen or thirty-five," Dan responded.

"Older women are hot. Particularly that little tamale," Gil grinned.

"You two are beyond pathetic. Fetch that damn strawberry milkshake and get out of here. I'm disgraced just being in your presence," Colleen said jokingly.

Dan and Gil grabbed the freshly-prepared strawberry milkshakes from the barkeep and rushed back to the table.

"I wonder if she'll drink both of them or if she'll pick one of the guys over the other by just drinking one."

Colleen's eyes had no choice but to drift again as she was toppled out of her chair.

"COLLEEN!" Ryuichi squeaked. They both fell to the floor with a thud… and in a fairly awkward position. Tatsuha was ready to hang himself but joined Fujisaki at the "Broken Hearts Table" instead. "Oops, sorry Colleen-chan," Ryuichi jumped up.

Colleen got up, up-righted her chair, and dusted herself off. "It's fine, Ryu-chan. No harm done. See?"

Her eyes were focused on Sakano for a second. He was the only one out on the dance floor and he really couldn't dance. It was highly amusing.

"Oh," Colleen snapped her gaze off of the dancing buffoon in the still-soaked suit. "Ryuichi-chan, is there something you wanted?"

Nodding furiously, Ryuichi looked at her as seriously as he could and made his request, "Would you dance with me, Colleen-chan?"

She smiled and almost accepted before she glanced at Tatsuha again. One look at him and Colleen could tell his heart was breaking. "Actually, Ryuichi-chan, I don't feel like dancing right now. Why don't you take him out for a spin?" Colleen motioned toward Tatsuha.

"Uh," Ryuichi looked awkwardly back and forth between Tatsuha and Colleen. "Okay. Hi I'm Ryuichi Sakuma… and you are?"

"T-Tatsuha, Tatsuha Uesugi," Tatsuha responded shakily.

"Wanna dance?" Ryuichi asked him. Tatsuha grinned, jumping at the chance. Ryu took his hand, Tatsuha blushed, and the two made their way out to the dance floor.

Colleen smiled at Ryu and Tatsuha as they began dancing. However, her eyes were quickly drawn back to Fujisaki, who was all alone again. She sighed and turned to the barkeep, "Another soda please."

The barkeep got her a second soda and she took it and her own half-finished glass and walked over to Fujisaki's table. She placed the full glass directly in front of him. He stared up at her.

"Not one for nightclubs, eh?" she smiled affably and slid into the seat beside him. "Well, I know nothing about you, so I went on a hunch and got you an orange soda. Is that good or should I keep that one for myself and get you another?"

"Oh no. I love orange soda," Fujisaki gulped down nearly half the glass and then slammed it on the table.

"You don't seem like you love it. You seem like you wanna kill it," she teased, "which is particularly sad since a soda is inanimate and therefore incapable of being killed."

"Why does Shuichi get to have Eiri-san all to himself?" Fujisaki sniffled.

"Well, I may be new here, but it seems to me that Shuichi gets to have him all to himself because they're lovers. Stop being such a child about it. He's too old for you anyway," Colleen rationalized.

"You're hardly one to talk. You're a year younger than me and you've got a crush on a thirty-one-year-old," Fujisaki glared.

"I really don't like Ryu-chan that way," Colleen responded calmly. "If I did, do you think I would've sent him out there to dance with that cutie who looks like he's been dying to sleep with Ryu since before he even heard of him?"

"Sorry, I'm not in a good mood," Fujisaki chugged soda again, smacking the now-empty glass to the table with an ear-shattering bang. "Eiri was my one and only love and I just came to the realization that he's never going to like me."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find someone else. Ever think of going straight? I'm sure you have a couple million rabid fangirls out there who want you more than the air they need to live."

"I suppose but that's obsession not love," Fujisaki objected, a slight blush arising on his cheeks.

"And things are different between you and Mr. Novelist?" Colleen asked him jokingly.

"I suppose not. But… what is love?"

"All I know about love is what I learned from American movies and Ryuichi-chan's songs, so don't ask me," Colleen chuckled.

"Though the glasses are both half-empty, I'd like to propose a toast," Fujisaki said seriously, clearing his throat.

"Yes?" Colleen waited patiently for him to continue.

"To screwing the whole love versus obsession thing in its entirety," Fujisaki raised his glass.

"Amen," Colleen promptly smacked her drink against his with a clank and inhaled a flood of orange soda.

* * *

A/N: I've been thinking about it but I haven't come to a definate conclusion - so I leave it to the readers: Should Fujisaki and Colleen get together? 


End file.
